Bentley Brooklands first drive: Steed, indeed

By
Autoweek

Feb 3, 2008

Since its global unveiling last year, Bentley's Brooklands coupe has had enthusiasts wondering how it will drive. Here is the answer.

For this story right now, it would be too easy to lay on you, first thing, the technical specifications of Bentley's beast coupe. It would be easier still to share the fine old British historical reasoning behind its Brooklands name.

It would be too easy and too cruel, for what you really want to know is just how this mother of all two-doors drives.

Bitchin'!

It is especially bitchin' if you like battleships with unworldly torque and a twin-turbocharged ingot of an engine whose spooling turbos shriek when you get into the throttle and when you back out, and it is especially bitchin' if you're likely to smile while getting the bejeezus scared out of you under power.

Yeah, it is that much fun.

Which makes what we are about to tell you all the more cruel. According to the Bentley people, someone who buys this very rare car is likely to put it into a collection and watch it appreciate or will drive it only sparingly, appreciating its road manners too infrequently.

Hey, don't shoot the messenger, people. This is what life has come to in the rarefied world of car collection. With a global build of just 550 copies (50 are still available) of these nearly $400,000 (base) coupes, they are rare beasts, indeed. Put it this way: It will be rarer to see this car than to see Britney Spears at a neighborhood moms' play group.

When you do see it, if you are so blessed, please hope it is on a twisty piece of asphalt cut into a hillside or along an ocean somewhere, with an azure sky behind it and one of its 42 colors glistening in the light. You cannot mistake it for anything else. This massive coupe is a gorgeous extension of the Azure from which it was born. And yet this creature is incredibly nimble on its 20-inch rims and lightning-fast--as in 0 to 60 mph in 5.0 seconds.

The Bentley Brooklands wags a not politically correct finger as it solidifies enormo-coupes' position in the marketplace. Really, now, could there be any more frivolous and, well, ludicrous a car? And listen up: WE LOVE IT! The Bentley Brooklands shouts, "Back, swine! Luxury coming through!" and does it so incredibly well that you cannot fault it.

As for its ability to get up and step away at speed, how could it not with hardware built precisely for a thoroughbred? A 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V8 produces 530 hp and an amazing 774 lb-ft of torque. In numbers you can share at the barbershop, top speed is 184 mph, and the ever necessary passing from 50 to 70 mph takes a scant 2.4 seconds. Talk about torque. And all from a vehicle that tips the scales at 5853 pounds.

You would think a tank like this would not get the kind of fuel economy that would warm the hearts of environmentalists. It boasts a city rating of 9.8 mpg and a highway number of 20.1. The combined rating of 14.5 mpg is similar to that of our long-term Chevy Suburban.

In typical British understatement, the press release boasts that the Brooklands is a coupe of unparalleled capabilities. It is enormous enough to fit four adults comfortably. Getting into the back seat is like slipping onto a ballroom floor. As for legroom, well, there must be someplace where engineers and designers can lounge about in glorious repose.

From the outside, you also can see a painted dark steel matrix grille, Le Mans lower front wing vents, Bentley jewel filler cap and large-bore twin oval exhaust tailpipes, which add to its menacing mien.

The Bentley might be all old-school charm, but the techno-wizardry inside is clearly of the 21st century. To go with the MP3 player, Bluetooth capability and driver info panel with trip computer, there's a top-roll-mounted navigation system to help guide the way. When cruising through the Italian countryside, that's not a bad thing to have, even though there are fewer places in the world that beckon you to lose yourself.

This beast can get up and go, but it also can stop well. A Bosch electronic stability program includes electronic brake pressure distribution, automatic slip regulation, engine brake torque control and hydraulic brake assist.

A note about this ESP: On an early drive, we got into a car whose suspension geometry was slightly out of kilter, which then got the wheel sensor askew, which sent a signal to the right front wheel to apply the brakes. It was unnerving and demanded a fix. It was an easy remedy, and the engineers were able to rectify it in short order.

Inside are airbags galore (and God forbid you should ever need 'em, but we figure that unless you hit something like a steamship, you'll win in the mass-versus-mass encounter).

When you have a car of this value, you want to make sure it stays there when you park it in your carriage house. That's why there are so many alarms and electronic countermeasures. Short of turning an intruder into a pile of ashes, the Brooklands is well armed to take on the least scrupulous ruffians. It boasts a multitiered security system that senses when the area around the car is infringed upon; the Brits call it a perimetric exterior and volumetric interior volume-sensing alarm with glass-break and inclination sensors. We believe that last sensor detects when the car is lifted, rather than when a potential thief has an inclination to do your car harm. There's also a multifunction alarm with immobilizer.

But again, the last thing you want to be in this Brooklands Bentley is immobile. Coddled in comfort, swathed in speed, you are invited to stuff your foot to the throttle and have a go. And once you do, you will smile all the while.

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